Getting to write

I was working with a delightful blogger/copywriter-to-be yesterday in my consulting capacity – and she asked me this:

How do you get yourself to write everyday, how do you get yourself into the habit of regular writing?

1. You’ve got to love it…or at least love the rewards it will get you – if you don’t have a penchant for the writing itself. The endgame is important here.
2. Find your community. You (yes, I’m looking at You) are part of why I can’t wait to write and then publish here everyday. I revel in your comments and your tweets and your emails, in our connections.
3. I never force myself to write. If it’s not working, I move on to another project. Or I walk away from my computer. No one likes to be pushed. I don’t believe in writer’s block – I do believe that there’s a time and a place for everything. Sometimes it’s not your time to write – accept it and move on. It will come back. I promise. But it will take a LOT longer if you don’t just let it go for a bit, if, tragically, you insist that it happens.

And there’s one more answer.

So often when we can’t do X, it’s because we’re only thinking about X. And hence, we forget that we can do A, B, C, D….

I hate speaking in intangibles so, let’s do this: I wrote a post yesterday about making up a portfolio if you don’t have any ‘official’ writing samples. And Dave Doolin commented that it’s the same with programming. And I responded, ‘Isn’t it the same with everything?’.

The thing, the ‘X’ you think you can’t do is: make a writing portfolio, designing a website, baking a cheese cake, running 5 miles. But the how is the same: you do it one piece at a time, you ask others for help, you follow directions, you jump in, you PRACTICE, you realize you should hire someone else to do it.

The Point is this: the WHAT isn’t important. It’s the HOW that matters. And you already know how to do the HOW – you HOW all the time. Sometimes easily, sometimes with a bit more sweat and grit.

So, when it comes to writing…

….there must be other ‘things’ in your life that you do on a regular basis with ease and joy.

• What are they?
• Why do you like them?

Now: apply those answers to writing, blogging, your business.

Here’s how I do it.

4. For the love of Running: It gives me a sense of accomplishment to finish my course. It makes me feel strong. I thrill at saying hello to other runners along my way. I like the rhythm of my foot falls on the road. Writing Translation: I get a sense of accomplishment when I finish a post. I feel strong and smart after I’ve written. I thrill at saying hello to my online community…and I love the rhythm of my finger falls on my keyboard.

________________________________

FYI: You may have noticed a new button up there at the top of my sidebar, courtesy of the astoundingly good Amanda Farough. Check it out if you need some personalized juice or jumpin’ for your writing, blogging or other businessly pursuits.

Image credit: The Hamster Factor

Filed under Blogging, Critical Copywriting, How To, Writing | Tags: blog writing, copywriter, copywriting, how to blog, how to use a copywriter, women blogging, writer, Writing, writing practice | Comments (21)

in celebration of BlogHer ’08

Today, blogher’s 2008 party conference begins in San Fran. Officially, this is what it’s about (according to their site):

Featuring technical labs, educational workshops, intense discussion sessions, relevant sponsors, speakers from every corner of the blogosphere, established and new, and plenty of opportunities to network and socialize. Appropriate for anyone and everyone who’s interested in any kind of blogging, from the personal to the professional to the political.

Some heady statistics (according to Katie Couric):

• 36 million women read and/or write blogs
• 46% of mommy blogs are political and/or issue driven
• Women spent $2 trillion last year (ie. we are a powerful market force)

Blogging is a perfect medium for women (according to me):

• We fit it into our lives and schedules when it works for us.
• We have ultimate control over our domain (pun intended).
• We decide who can and can not talk back to us.
• We are a growing community of women who share advice, support and connection on every topic from breast cancer to how to build a website to parenting tips to career coaching to fertility, infertility and miscarriages to fashion to…
• We are no longer isolated from each other and the world.
• We are creative, daring, inventive and take risks with ourselves and our careers.
• We are financially independent.
• We are rewarded for being our real selves by site traffic, sales, revenue streams and peer acknowledgment.
• We are able to combine family and work, or at least make the ‘have to choose’ scenario a bit fuzzier.
• We buy products and services from each other circumventing big business that don’t incorporate our voice, needs or wants.
• We have a voice.
• We’re powerful.

Back to blogher ’08: I’m insanely jealous, wish I was there and pray that next year blogher ’09 will be on the east coast. For those of you lucky enough to attend…have a fabulous time…I can’t wait to read all about it.

Filed under Blogging, News | Tags: blog, Blogging, blogher, blogher 08, blogher conference, copywriter, copywriting, internet stats, Julie Roads, katie couric, women, women and internet stats, women blogging, women blogs, women online, women web 2.0, Writing Roads | Comments (2)